Svärd, Veronica

Abstract [en]

This work applies intersectionality to five Somali women self-narratives and focuses on their identities and positions in Swedish society, but also their relation to Somali society. Since people constructs in relation to the environment, this work studies the impact of environmental confirmations of their own self. Intersectionality is brought into the social work with an operational attempt, and shows how critics of power and interplay between theories and empirics can provide new knowledge. Intersectionality also demands some alterations of the social constructionists’ idea of the ego. Therefore this work outline a model of analysis that considers the critic of power. According to this work, intersectionality implies that social work is essentially about power. The women’s egos seem to be closely united different strongly. The more different identifications the women describes and the more ambivalent they are allowed to be in different milieus, the greater assets has the women in their ability to move between milieus and to pass between positions of power. But the tighter united some of their identifications are in their egos; the firmer is their assumptions of what constitute a good behaviour. And the stronger united the ego is, the space to pass through positions of power in different arenas is shrinking.

This work emphasizes the importance of making shifts of power in identification categories visible in order to localize resistance strategies among exposed individuals. This work also suggest that social work should consider the supplementary vulnerable situation that signify the position in intersection between power orders and contradictory norms, since that could lead to too simplified conclusions that create additional isolation. Being sensitive to the experience and resolution of these women’s own experiences and resolutions is therefore crucial in achieving good social work. Accordingly, lack of knowledge is an obstacle to resist discrimination and oppression. Another conclusion is that social work and social politics should aim to strengthen the ego of immigrant women in order to release their driving forces that in turn may lead to participation, not only to the Swedish society. These Somali women appear as peace endeavours, whose political voices has been marginalised both in the Somali and the Swedish context, which obstacle peace making in the Somali society.